Defrosting
by shadowboy8456
Summary: When a rather eccentric and chaotic TEAM from a visiting Academy partially force themselves upon, partially team up with, Teams RWBY and JNPR, their lives get even sillier and even more crazy. Back-stories will be told, Grimm will be killed, and Weiss will eventually find herself slowly, begrudgingly, gaining feelings for the boy causing the madness. (Weiss X OC) (PLEASE R&R.)
1. Chapter 1

While attending Beacon Academy, in the Kingdom of Vale, it was quite common for the students to see abnormal things. Wither that was the transforming weapons, their rather "unique" entrance exam in the Emerald Forest, or the fact that the monsters known as the Grimm were often used for exposure in the classes. At the center of the chaos was Team RWBY, a group of exceptional young women who seems to get involved in nearly everything that happens in and around the Kingdom of Vale. Standing at the helm of team RWBY is Ruby Rose, with her Sniper Rifle/Scythe combo weapon, the Crescent Rose. By her side is her sister Yang Xiao Long, the buxom Brawler wielding the shotgun gauntlets, the gold-colored Ember Celica. Weiss Schnee, heiress, tactician, and mage all in one, and wielder of the Multi-Action-Dust-Rapier named Mrytenaster. To round up the foursome was the mysterious Blake Belladonna, a wildcard who wields a weapon, the Gambol Shroud, that was a sword with sheathe, and a kusarigma chain pistol. All in all, fairly well versed and well traveled. Still, the four young ladies had to be surprised on a chilly fall day.

But seeing a whole legion of students, weapons and all, swimming up the river that led Beacon Academy was certainly an odd sight. The ladies had been in town, on a very practical shopping trip to get their weapons sharpened or polished, obtaining more ammo, recycling expelled cartridges, and routine maintenance. It had been almost a month since Blake had confronted Roman Torchwick down at the docks, and revealed her heritage to the rest of the team. The festival was just about to kick off, and all of the schools were arriving between semesters, as to not interrupt classes. It seemed this one was second last.

"Weiss, Blake, you need to come and see this! They're actually climbing up the cliffs!" Ruby said in an excited her mind starting to move at hyper speed at the thought of the new weapons the large crowd, close to a couple hundred at least, were most likely carrying.

"I think they're from that school in the North...what's it called again?" Yang asked, standing next to her sister to look out of the window, watching the people crawl their way up the sheer cliff face. Standing at the very top was an old mustached man, built like an ox. Said man was smacking the blunt end of his long lance against the ground so hard it was leaving small indents, shouting at his students so loud his voice that it could almost be heard from the airship. The silence that followed Yang's question made it clear nobody was aware of the name of the school.

"It's called Asmund Academy, located in Kingdom of Atlas. Apparently, shortly after the war, a berserker by the name of Asmund established a colony at the outer reaches of Atlas. It's notorious for a Spartan ways of teaching students, being particularly brutal and still being run by its original founder." Weiss voice chimed in as she too looked out a window, pointing at the old man as he contused to shout. His head was covered in a black bandanna, and he seemed to wear a military jacket of some sort over his shoulders, choosing to wear a black shirt under that, and a pair of white pants. Ruby and Yang turned their heads in union to give the heiress and odd look, even tilting their heads slightly. Weiss only noticed her teammates staring at her a few seconds later, jumping slightly before starting to explain.

"I had to do some research when I was choosing which I wanted to go to. So don't be giv-Hey look, those two are waving at us!" Weiss suddenly pointed out to two people standing on small part of the cliff that jutted out from the rest of the rock face, perhaps just enough to plan their feet upon. From that distance all that was distinguishable was a cowboy hat, blue with a gold trim on the head of one figure, and the mass of grey hair that covered the second one's head. They suddenly winced as the old man sent a volley off orders their way, and quickly resumed their action, using their hands to climb up the last couple feet, pulling themselves over onto the grass. The pair seemed to within the first ten to arrive at the top and like the others, proceeded to rest and attempt to drip dry themselves.

"Wait...how could they even see you three? We must be at least 40 feet away." Blake suddenly piped up from her seat, having put down her book a minute before she spoke. There was a pregnant pause as the majority of Team RWBY pondered the question, looking very puzzled.

"They decided to wave at random? Or they just were waving to an airship for fun?" Yang countered with a shrug of her shoulders, a rumble signaling that the airship was landing.

"I guess we'll see them again during the Festival or the Tournament, and we and ask them then. Vale is a small enough place. I'm sure they'll pop up somewhere." Blake continued as the gangplank lowered as the fearsome foursome exited the flying vehicle, while Yang began holding the end of Ruby's clock so she wouldn't run to the arriving students and gush over their weapons, much to Ruby's protest.

"One these days, I'm really am going to break Cardin's legs..." Pyrrah mumbled under her breath violently stabbing her peas with a fork. The young Winchester and his team were once again picking on Velvet, tugging on her rabbit ears and generally calling her names that the rabbit Faunus was not enjoying, and she was practically on the verge of tears.

"Hey, is your brother named Peter?" Cardin chimed in with a chuckle, his teammates quickly joining in.

"Take a breath Pyrrah. You'd get in serious trouble for even beating him up, let alone breaking his legs." Ruby countered, trying to bring some common sense to the table that was stewing with anger. The bird-named team had turned into Birds of Prey for anyone unlucky enough to be on their own, while still masquerading as perfect little angels. It was clearly spreading a shared feeling of anger and resentment throughout the two teams and the breaking point was near.

Well...at least until the eggs threw flew the air.

Green and Brown eggs, moldy and clearly rotted made contact with the head and the back of each member on Team CRDL, the shells cracking and leaving a very gross stench and slime to stain the armour or shirts. Silence fell among most of the cafeteria as Cardin stepped forward with a snarl on his face, looking at the lobbers of the eggs. Said lobbers were located at the entrance of the mess hall, leaning against the doors. Closest to Teams RWBY and JNPR was a cowboy hat-wearing girl with long black hair that nearly reached her slender waist. Said hat was blue-grey mix that, bullets strapped around the bulk of a hat, kept there with a dark blue band. One of her gloved hands traced along the golden brim of her hat, the gloves themselves being brown leather with golden cloth frills on the end that moved around when she moved. One of her bright blue eyes was looking to the side, giving the advancing grunts an icy look. Her boots seemed to be the same brown colour, with a stronger material, and had matching gold frills that started just under the tips of her purple socks. She wore a simple purple miniskirt held up by a golden belt, leaving her upper legs quite bare. He shirt was sleeveless and white, bearing her pale belly while not revealing much else, and curled inward slightly at the hem Over that she wore a vest-duster combo that seemed to have been relieved of its sleeves quite roughly, judging from the frayed ends at her shoulders. The area around her shoulder was purple, while the folds of were lined with gold. The duster was a couple different shades of blue, and reached down to her ankles. There was a line of gold frills just before the hem, while the hem large threads hanging off, arranged into spikes of sorts.

"Now, if the eggs aren't enough of a sign of how rotten you are, I'm sure my partner and I can talk some common sense into you...whoever you are." The boy across from the cowgirl said, brushing a bit of his hair out of his dark green eyes with one gloved hand. Said gloves were a dark maroon colour, fingerless, with circular gold metal tips on each knuckle and large silver silvers cuffs that had stars embedded in them. His hair was long enough to reach the base of his neck, silver in colour, had bangs that framed his face, and was messily styled into a few vertical spikes. His head was slowly bobbing in time with the beats of music that was leaking out of headphones draped around his neck. Said headphones were mainly black with dark red lining, a few bullets strapped onto the arch, the bullets being silver in colour. The red lining was mostly on the outside of the thick headphones, and the wire that led to the source was also red. He was wearing a dark grey t-shirt, with red lines that seemed to glow and pulse in time with the music, the lines moving from his shoulders to a point on his back somewhere. Over the shirt, he wore a dark brown vest, unzipped, and sleeveless with an absurdly high collar. Finally, over the shirt and vest, he wore a simple grey jacket that had black pads sewn into the shoulders and elbows. He wore a pair of poofy black pants on his legs, a pair of pads also sewn into the knee of said pants. On his feet he wore a pair of large, brown boots that seemed to cover up to the middle of his shins, blocking the end of each pant leg from view.

"Listen here whoever you are, as Team CRDL has some advice for you. _**RUN**_!" Cardin said with a snarl as the pair stood up properly, hands finding pockets as they shared a look. All in all, they were as cool as cucumbers.

"Wait...how is that pronounced exactly?" The grey haired boy said with a chuckle, holding one his hand forward in a slightly defensive maneuver.

"CARDINAL! CAR-DIN-AL!" Cardin roared, looking like he was ready to take a swing at the unnamed boy, who just seemed to be holding back laughter.

"You really shouldn't have called yourself that. So many bird puns are going to be flung your way." The boy said between laughs, holding his sides and bending over gently to laugh. Said bending was just in time to dodge a punch from Cardin himself, while the cowgirl weaved around a short jab from Russel Thresh. The boy moved under Cardin's reach to stand beside his partner, the pair now against the table Velvet was sitting at, sharing a quick look and a nod before moving again.

"You really are a bunch of _**birdbrains**_ to try and bully a poor girl. It's usually the quiet ones that are the most dangerous." He said between laugh as Cardin charged him yet again, steam practically coming out of his ears. The boy simply stepped backward onto the seat of the table and front flipped over Cardin, sticking his tongue out at him after he landed. He twitched slightly as if he was temporarily disturbed by something, and then ducked Sky's right hook that came from behind. Sky's fist connected with Cardin's nose, which resulted in both young men crying out in pain and holding their bruised appendages. Meanwhile Cowgirl, as most people dubbed her, had slipped between the legs of both Dove and Russel with ease, and somehow causing the pair to slip up and fall on their faces. The boy simply clicked his tongue a couple times and shook his head sadly.

"Bunch of featherheads these guys are, eh Rickel? No sense of teamwork or syncrasy." The boy said with a chuckle, suddenly walking over to the tables where Teams RWBY and JNPR were sat. He stopped just before them, giving off a friendly wave to the amused crowd before him.

"Hi there. Can I borrow your bird?" He said quite bluntly, already reaching for the untouched turkey in the middle of the table. There was a stunned silence before Ruby suddenly nodded, speaking in a semi-awkward tone.

"Uhh...sure. Go right ahead." She said, suddenly aware of the fact that her sister was munching on popcorn.

"Yang, where did you get the popcorn?"

"Nora gave it to me. This is pretty fun to watch!" She replied through a mouthful of popcorn, shoveling another handful into her mouth.

"Then where did Nora get it?" Ruby said as a puzzled look came upon her face, to which Ren finally piped up from his usual silence.

"It's best not to ask or question where Nora gets things from. Trust me." His calm voice said; leaving the teams in silence save for Ruby and Yang munching on the popcorn as the boy walked over to the recovering Cardin.

"Now, can we say this was a lesson you learned about..." He paused, raising the bronze-cooked bird over his head for a second before bringing it down. A great "THRUMP" sound followed the boy brining the turkey down.

"_**Talking Turkey**_!" He said, pleased with his handiwork. Cardin's entire head was now stuck inside of the turkey, causing him to flail around and eventually trip and fall on a slippery patch of floor, joining his teammates on the floor. There was a mix of applause and laughter in the immediate area around the pair as they shook hands and sat across from each other, checking in with velvet. After a brief conversation and a few nods and smiles, the boy and Rickel took the turkey at velvet's table and carried it over to Team RWBY's table, plopping it down on the platter where it belonged.

"You do realize you're in monumental trouble, right? Outside of classes, fighting isn't permitted." Weiss said, entering full-on lecture tone instantly, only to be stopped when Rickel held up her hand and shook her head gently.

"Save for the turkey, we didn't touch them if you want to get technical about it." The boy said with a wily grin, grabbing an apple from the middle of the table, taking a big bite out of it a second later.

"I guess you could say you _**Toucan**_ work together really well." Yang said with an equally large grin, leaning in as she made her joke.

"Aaaaaah! I like her! She'll have me _**raven**_ with laughter!" The boy said as he pointed to Yang with an even bigger smile, while the rest of the table let off a soft groan. It was hard to decide who was worse with their jokes.

"So you two are from Asmund Academy, I take it?" Pyrrah asked as she injected herself into the conversation, also being the face of their two groups. She was always one to roll out the welcome wagon.

"Yes ma'am. My name is Colden Winters. The cowgirl over there is Rickel, my partner. She doesn't talk much...or at all really." Colden said with a shrug, to which Rickel just gave off a short wave and a smile to the group before proceeding to get herself a pear.

"Wait...do you realize name is also a pun? _**Cold-in-Winters**_!" Yang asked after a moment of silent, chuckling a little bit as the realization passed through her mind, a few chuckles resounding through the table

"Well my brother is named Snowden, so I think my parents were well aware of the puns. I've embraced it, quite frankly. Oh...can we sit here? I just realized we kind of just plopped ourselves down without asking." Colden asked with a sheepish look on his face, rubbing the back of his head with one hand. Silence followed as the Beacon students focused their gaze on something just behind him. Colden's face fell from the smile to a flat frown as he realized what was coming.

"Oh crap..." Was all he said in a mildly annoyed tone as a massive hand forced his face into the table, another doing the same to Rickel. The hands belonged to Asmund the Berserker himself, who was frowning from under his large white mustache. The boy couldn't help but grin as his face was forced into the table, and the massive man spoke in a deep, rumbling voice.

"You put that turkey on square-headed guy?" He asked simply, tugging on Colden's hair.

"Yep. He was being a bully to Miss Scarlatina over there. So I took proper action. And technically, I didn't touch him until I put the turkey on his head. By technicality, Rickel and I did follow your no fighting rule." Colden said with a grin, letting out a pained chuckle as he face was slammed into the table again. He and his silent partner were then lifted up by the imposing man and carried out of the hall.

"Hey! Watch my dog for a bit!" Colden called out before being taken out of view by his elderly, but nowhere near frail, headmaster.

"Dog...?" Ruby asked, suddenly noticing Colden's seat had been filled by a very demonic looking dog. It looked to be a German Shepherd, with all black fur and with a pair of red eyes. It just sort of sat there for a moment, where Colden had been previously. Blake quickly packed up her things and slowly slid away, her feline nature kicking in and causing her to move to a table across the hall. It eventually open its mouth and let it's tongue hang out in a friendly manner, causing a single sentence to be said that was agreed upon by everyone present.

"The people from Atlas are weird."


	2. Chapter 2

"Who's a good girl? Whoasgoodgirl? You are! Yes you are!" Weiss cooed as she gave the dog a belly rub, who which the bog barked happily and wagged its tail. It turns out the heiress had quite a soft spot for the pooch, and had been quite affectionate to the dog in the half hour that had passed since Colden and Rickel were dragged off by their headmaster. The pair still hadn't returned to retrieve the dog, which they didn't know the name of, as it didn't have a collar or any tags on it. All they knew was that it was a girl, and very well trained. It didn't bark or bite at anyone, and barely did anything she wasn't told to besides following Team RWBY wherever they went.

"Do you think he's even coming back? Or did we just get ourselves a dog?" Blake asked, voicing her concern as she stood on the opposite end of the hall, on edge due to the canine presence.

"He seemed like a good type of guy. I'm sure he'll pop up sooner or later." Yang said, the team having finished their lunch and traveled to Glynda Goodwitch's classroom, now waiting for the bell to ring. Not even a full minute after Yang spoke, Colden slid around the corner, Rickel not far behind her partner. Both slid to a stop in front of Team RWBY, Colden stepping over his own feet a few times to prevent himself from falling flat on his face. The pair stopped and bent over slightly to catch their breath, Rickel giving a weak wave and an apologetic smile.

"Okay, we did NOT mean to take that long to get yelled at, but Moony decided it would be a _novel_ idea to drag us to the other side of this place so "nobody would be disturbed" or something like that." Colden said between deep breaths, swallowing hard as he tried to smile. Rickel stuck a finger into her ear and twisted it around a couple times, which spurred Colden to speak again.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to mention he can yell REALLY loud? And that I call him Moony due to his moon-shaped mustache?" Colden added, his dog finally turning over and stand up, going over to her master to sit beside him.

"Well...no. But that is pretty funny." Yang, one of the few who appreciated Colden's sense of humour, replied, watching as the dog walked back to her master

"So, has Fangdred been any trouble? And could you also possibly tell me the location of the classroom for combat training?" Colden said, Rickel nodding as she held up a scroll and tapped the electronic schedule.

"Lucky for you guys, we have that same class. So you're just outside it. And your dog has been just fine, surprisingly." Blake replied in a slightly cold tone, still being wary of the dog, and the boy who owned it.

"Thank you. And I don't find it surprising at all; we had alot of time to train her during our first month of schooling." Colden said, crouching slightly to scratch the dog behind the ears.

"Kind of an odd name for an ordinary dog, don't you think?" Yang asked, stealing a glance at Weiss and Ruby. It seemed that the dog leaving so abruptly had comically depressed Weiss, and Ruby was busy comforting her teammate, speaking in hushed voices.

"No loyalty..."

"Don't be sad Weiss; I'm sure she'll come back if you call her!"

"Nah. You'll learn that everyone from our school, the staff, the students and the pets are pretty damm odd." Colden, keeping a casual demeanour as he recovered from his run

"...I'm saying it again. People from Atlas are weird." Blake said, shaking her head a couple of times in something between annoyance and disgust.

"Eh, I can't disagree with that. We are rambunctious and crazy, and probably have too much snow on the brain, for that matter." Colden said with a shrug, the bell ringing not even a second after he finished speaking. There was a general shared shrug before the group entered the classroom and took their seats above the arena where the actual combat took place. Colden and Rickel moved to the opposite side of the room, joining a small group of students that seemed to be from Atlas Academy. There was a boy who sat next to Rickel that had strands of hair that seemed to be burning orange, standing out against his dark red hair. He grabbed her hand shortly after she sat down, planting a gentle kiss on it, making it clear to those in the room that they were in an intimate relationship together. On the other side of Colden was a couple that seemed completely opposite of one another. There was a brown-haired girl who was dressed much akin to a warrior princess, and carried herself as such. She wore dark brown boots with blue and golden shin guards, her legs bare until her combat skirt, which was armoured lightly and bright blue. A black corset covered up her stomach until her chest, a breastplate coloured blue and orange red and separate halves rested on her shoulders, the breastplate reach just to the end of her ribcage. Sitting beside her was her boyfriend (as they'd find out later), who was the exact opposite of her. He brown hair was spiked up, his demeanour much more laid back and relaxed, and he was dressed in a simple outfit, which was a mix of greens and reds. In addition, there was a very pale, black haired young man dressed in an equally black kimono and grey pants. In total, there were roughly 25 of them stuffed into the seats, a rainbow of hair colours among the small crowd of students that spoke amongst themselves until Glynda Goodwitch entered the room, tapping her riding crop against her side twice. The tapping resulted in all the students falling silent, as if her weapon had temporarily silenced them.

"Thank you all for arriving on time. I'd like to extend a greeting to the students from all arriving schools, which will be joining our ranks for the Vytal Festival, and for the rest of the school year. If you weren't currently aware, I am Glynda Goodwitch, and will be addressed as Ms Goodwitch with no exceptions. Are there any questions?" The blonde woman asked while bringing up her scroll in her free hand, activating it with practiced ease. When she was met with a general silence, Glynda continued as she began to tap something on the holographic screen that she cradled in her arm.

"Good. Since you're all most likely eager to see new weaponry, we won't waste any time. Asmund Academy students, your weapons are right over here." She added as she used his riding crop again, morning to the wall. A compartment then separated itself from the walls to reveals stacks upon stacks of rectangular, gray boxes…which then proceeded to tumble onto floor, due to how they were stacked. An audible wince was heard coming from both student bodies as the coveted and precious weapons fell to the floor.

"…My apologies. Feel free to come down and check the condition of your weapons, and then I will assign partners for two-on-two matches. Students of Beacon, please retrieve your weapons as well." She had barely finished her apology as the students of Asmund Academy quite literally left out of their seats and over the low railing, falling the short distance onto the ground. After that, it turned into a brief free-for-all as each student searched for their name in the mess of boxes.

Rickel was first to find her weapon, pulling out a pair of ice blue pistols which she looked over, twirled them on her fingers a few times, and then smoothly set them into holsters that were attached to the belt she wore. Despite the cowgirl theme to her, which she affirmed by running her index finger and thumb along the edge of her hat and grinning, her pistols actually looked to be quite modern. The barrels were smooth like ice, rectangular in shape with a single iron sight at the end of each pistol. The hammers were curved to allow easy fanning if need be, or simply to make it easier to pull it back after firing. The holsters dipped at the front, allowing for a quick holstering and an even quicker draw. Next was the flaming-haired boy who had sat next to Rickel shortly after she had entered the room, who from his box retrieved a blade that he was able to sit against one of his shoulders, with one hand on the black and red handle. It was a fairly standard short sword, with a blade that was roughly three feet long from blade tip to handle, which predominantly black in colour, with silver accents where the blade flattened out, giving it its sharp edge. Then the tanned, brunette boy who was dressed in rags founds his weapons, which were a pair of simple golden gauntlets that stopped just before the knuckles, and had multiple layers of thin metal. After smashing them together his fists were surrounded with a golden aura that acted like a fire, leaking off his hands. Shortly after Mr. Hand-to-Hand founds his weapon, the combat skirt-wearing, brown haired girl was able to retrieve hers. Her weapon could only be described as a lance of some kind, with a blade on one end being much larger than the thin blade on the other end said larger blade was thick, much akin to a spearhead, and had glowing golden engravings running down the middle, until the blade met the equally golden handle. How she was able to heft such a weapon was a mystery, but then again, how did any of the students in Remnant walk around with large weaponry?

Finally, after hammers, swords, spears, guns and many other weapons were liberated from their cases, Colden Managed to find his weapon; rather, his weapons. He had two blades, both of which seemed to simply stick to the sleeveless brown vest he wore, as he had taken off the grey jacket and left it up on his seat. Even now the wired apparatus on his grey shirt was still beating; the headphones placed around his neck clearly still playing music. First was a three and a half foot blade...or at least what was left of a blade. The notches and dips, and the rounded top of the sword, made it look more like a big silver key rather than a blade, and one that would fall apart at the slightest contact at that. The handle was shaped like a large trapezoid, with two purple hand guards linking to the silver and black hilt, the actual handle of the blade itself being a dark red more than anything.

"Now, before any of you ask, no, I'm not compensating for anything." Colden suddenly said as he pulled out his second weapon, kicking the box closed behind him. Having to hold it with both hands, Colden hefted a massive sword that could only be described as a butter knife that been assembled by someone with an affinity for steampunk culture. And for some reason, the smith who assembled the weapon had decided it would be a smart idea to add 10 massive black chainsaw teeth onto the black of the blade, between a chunk of metal that made up a majority of the battered, dark gray blade and a chunk of rusted green metal rived onto the back of blade, giving them no space to move. The rusted green metal led into the hilt, which consisted of a rusted silver circle haphazardly placed one side, before leading into a simple handle, which seemed to be wrapped in an ornate red fabric. As Colden finally stuck the blade onto his back, it became clear that a few wires were sticking out in odd places, and that the handle had a small button on the very end. His joke garnered a few snickers, and a harsh look from Miss Goodwitch, but nothing more than that. The students of Beacon left and returned with their own weapons, mutual whistles and sounds of admiration coming from the students of Asmund Academy.

"Now that we're all prepared, we will get right into two-on-two matches. First up, Blake Belladonna and Ryu Jin Mifune versus Weiss Schnee and Colden Winters. After that, Ruby Rose and Rickel Hailstorm versus Lie Ren and Lario Evans. Following that match..." Glynda's assigning of mixed teams went on, but Weiss eventually tuned it out while she gripped Mrytenaster tighter in one hand, the other coming to lightly smack her forehead.

"_Great_." She thought to herself _"Stuck with the nutty swordsman. At least the cowgirl wouldn't talk back." _ Weiss had a sneaking suspicion that this would be very similar to her first meeting with Ruby, trying to keep her in place and oh...SURVIVE their entrance exam! Except this time, it was for bragging rights and dignity, something she held in a very high regard. Weiss was suddenly aware of a presence quite closer to her, looking to her left hand. Colden was crouched down, his gaze focused on Mrytenaster, his mouth actually shut for once.

"Mind telling me what you're doing down there?" She asked, sass dripping into her words as she spoke, one of her eyebrows rising.

"Checking out your weapon. What else would I be doing?" Colden answered as he stood back up, stretching out his arms and cracking his neck softly. Weiss paused to lean to the side, trying to see what was keeping Colden's weapons in place. They couldn't be just stuck to his back like in video games.

"Okay...you have a point there. And I have two quick questions. One, how are your swords stuck to your back like that? And two, what exactly was wrong with Mrytenaster?" The latter of Weiss' questions was justified, as if her weapon was in poor condition, it would be unusable in battle.

"Oh yeah...well...they're held there by a powerful magnet that I have hooked up on the back of my shirt, just under my vest. I had to fine tune it so only my swords can attracted to it. Otherwise, I'd be carrying pretty much every weapon in the room on my back. And I was admiring the workmanship of the blade. Exquisite detail on the prongs encasing the dust chamber...and okay. Maybe it needs a _wee_ bit of maintenance." Colden replied putting two fingers a short distance away from each other, his eyes slightly squinted to prove his point.

"I guess that's the reasoning for the pulsating wires. And what do you mean 'maintenance'?" Weiss shot back, her temper flaring up just a bit. She always kept good care of her sword!

"Nothing too bad. Just a few scratched and chips that can easily be fixed. I'm a bit of a freak about sword maintenance, so I can't help but notice." Colden explained, taking a step back to get out of the rapier's reach.

"Yet you fight with a sword so badly damaged, it looks like a key." Weiss observed, her voice deadpan.

"Yes, but there's a story behind that, so I think it's justified that I use Glacier all I want." Colden replied, sticking a finger up to add another point to his argument, but was interrupted by someone clearing their throat.

"If you're quite finished introducing yourselves, I would like to begin. We have quite a few combat practices to get through today." Glynda said, causing both Weiss and Colden to turn different shades of red as they stepped up onto the small platform, embarrassed at their mutual distraction.

"Oh, real quick. What's your fighting style?" Colden asked, taking the key-blade known as Glacier off his back, holding it in one hand, the dip on one side allowing it to rest on his shoulder perfectly.

"It's a rapier, so you should be able to guess from that. But if you must know, I prefer fencing-based techniques." Weiss answered, readying her blade as their scrolls activated, showing a health bar.

"Hm...Lots of long straight strokes then. I'll make sure to stay out of your way. Now, Mifune has that Katana, which limits his range. If you can attack from outside or inside that set range, you should be good." Colden replied, twirling his blade after raising it off his shoulder. Weiss was surprised, to say the least. Despite his distracted and hyperactive personality, he was willing to quickly adapt in a fight. Okay, so maybe he wouldn't be as bad as Ruby. Then again, Ruby learned quickly too.

"Thanks for the tip. Blake...is a powerhouse, to be frank. Keep up your guard and watch out for her Semblance. She might crop up somewhere behind you." Weiss muttered back, giving Colden the same courtesy of a tip, albeit a less specific one. There wasn't a second to waste, as small alarms dinged on their scrolls.

And just like that, the first fight was on.

The Heiress and the Samurai were first to clash, meeting in the middle. The edge of the long-haired boy's katana clashed with the tip of Mrytenaster, her blue eyes meeting his dark brown ones, each determined to win. Mifune pulled back and began to slash again, which caused Weiss to, in turn jump back to avoid the slash, and then move inward again. Mifune was able to get his blade facing upward just in time, as their blades clashed once more .However, Weiss had the upper hand, and was able to push Mifune back a few steps before kicking his feet out from under him. Meanwhile, Colden and Blake were moving around the outside of the ring, the former of the two on the defensive, using both hands to hold the blunt blade, blocking the blows from both the razor-sharp sheath and the even deadlier blade that made up the Gambol Shroud . Blake was currently spinning like a top as she delivered blow after punishing blow to the boy who put her instincts on edge, not letting up for a moment. Why wasn't he using the bigger sword? Was he saving it or something? It worried Blake that he was relying on the much smaller sword for whatever reason, but she couldn't focus too much on it. This was a fight, after all. Blake blinked, and suddenly realized that her target was no longer in front of her, but rather behind her, brining his blade down vertically. Blake quickly sheathed the Gambol Shroud again, returning it to its default state to block his blow, but also causing her to fall to one knee.

"How did you get behind me?" She asked through gritted teeth, trying her best to push herself back upward again.

"Timed your spins, used your sheath as a stepping stone and jumped. I'm surprised that-WOAH!" Whatever Colden was about say was cut off as Mifune and Weiss caused him and Blake to jump backward, the other pair broke through them practically without noticing Mifune was on the defensive, blocking the rapier's thrusts with precise skill, but still being forced back as his fictional health bar was depleted. It was a simple matter of practicality, sadly. A katana was a slashing weapon, and wouldn't stand a chance against a stabbing and thrusting blade, like what Weiss wielded. Blake saw an opening and took within seconds, leaving a Shadow clone behind. And due to it being in a defensive position, Colden foolishly slashed at it and only realized his folly was Blake was bearing down on him again. This time, she used a running leap, and was slashing downward at him. In reply, Colden moved Glacier to his right hand and grabbed the long handle of the blade on his back with his left, moving it upward. A loud CLANG sounded throughout the room once Blake made contact. It turned out that Colden had used the long handle of his weapon to block the Gambol Shroud, stopping it and by extension, Blake dead in the air.

"If you're trying to slice through Hope's End, you may want to reconsider." Colden said simply, his thumb pressing the button on the hilt of Hailstone. The gray circle suddenly began to glow, but only for a split second before a sound that could only be described as a "wub" came from the blade. It had played a loud, pressurized beat that got Blake to move back upon impact, giving Colden the space he needed. Colden moved Hope's End back into its proper place and grabbed the headphones around his neck to put them on. He started bobbing his head to the beat that was still playing before engaging in combat once more, holding Glacier in both hands again.

Weiss, meanwhile, was just finishing things up with Mifune, easily tearing through his small and weak defences, landing multiple small hits that chipped away at his health bar rapidly. He might have had a powerful attack with his katana, but sacrificed any defensive measures to do so. There was also the fact that Weiss had superior speed, and when combined with her light attacks, made his bar disappear in the matter of minutes, paying little heed to the boy and the Cat Faunus . Weiss, going for a flashy finishing move, pulled back the hammer on her weapon and squeezed the trigger twice, using one cartridge of Light Blue Dust and one of Green Dust in rapid succession. The blue dust allowed her to slash low to create a sheet of ice that tripped Mifune up, while the latter Green cartridge built up and pressurized wind within her blade and released it to send Mifune flying backward. Out of the blue, Colden used her outstretched blade as a stepping stone and with one hand, did a handstand on her shoulder for a few seconds, twirling on her shoulder before jumping off again. Weiss would later be told that he had used her as a pivoting point to avoid shots from Gambol Shroud, now in pistol form, before jumping off again. Somehow, he got a very large jump by pushing off her head, having enough time to grip the key blade in both hands and raise it above his head. Using the momentum from the fall, he brought down his keyblade onto a defensive Blake and...

Slashed right through another one of her Shadow Clones.

"...Crap." Was all that Colden was able to say as the shadow clone dissipated in front of him. Within seconds the Hailstone buster was on the floor behind him, and he was wrapped completely in Ribbon of the Gambol Shroud, now being used as a whip. Colden could only grunt as his vision was covered by the whip. The only thing he felt after that was lots and lots of spinning, followed up by a swift kick to the gut. Within a few short moves, his entire health bar had been depleted. The dizzy teen ended up on the floor, looking a little green, but no worse for wear.

"Hm. The first match seems to have ended in a tie. Well done all combatants. Please put away your weapons as the next teams take their places." Ms. Goodwitch said after a moment of silence that signaled the end of the fight. While Colden went over his container and put always his toys, Glynda quizzed the class on what Mifune and Colden could have done to turn the course of the battle.

"Okay Colden. Why exactly did you not use the huge sword? That could have won you the watch from the start. Seems like w waste of a weapon" Weiss stated firmly after stowing her weapon, leaning against the wall behind Colden waiting for him to finish up.

"Use brings Wear, tear, and rust. And that, Miss Schnee, is the real waste." Colden said in reply, the phrase sounding almost practiced or known by heart when he spoke.

"So you made really, really big sword...only to not use it. Is that what you're saying?" She asked, slightly ticked She WOULD have much preferred victory over a tie.

"...In a way, yes. It's a long story, which I will explain later, alright? I want see Rickel kick some ass." Colden replied, slamming down the top of the container, locking it tight.

"Don't count out Ren. He's quite formidable, with a strong control over his aura." Weiss interjected, finishing the conversation as Colden simply shrugged in reply. He just didn't have much to say as they return to their seats. By the time Fangdred had placed her head on Colden's lap, and Weiss had join Yang and Blake back at their normal seats, Rickel and Ruby had taken their places opposite Ren and Lario, a young man with short green hair that dress mostly in brown and wielded a bow, his quiver slung at his waist.

"Alright! R&amp;R Connection has got this in the bag!" Ruby cried as she drew the Crescent Rose, keeping it in its Inactive form for the time being. Rickel offered one of her fists, which was holding her un-named weapon, and Ruby promptly bumped it, the Team Name approved by both members.

"Hah! I think Mr. Uh...Mr. Kung fu over here and I will come out on top in this fight!" Lario said, his voice scratchy, yet cocky at the same time. It was like he was just going through puberty over and over again. There was a collective face-palm from Rickel, Ren and most Asmund Academy Students that knew Lario. He was never one for remembering names.

"Remember students. Keep it civil. These are SPARRING matches, after all. Now, Begin!" Glynda said, once more setting up the health bars for each combatant.

For the first few seconds, there was nothing but projectiles flying through the air. The Crescent Rose, Rickel's guns, Ren's StormFlower and Lario's bow spat out bullets and arrows as the foursome slowly advanced toward the other, meeting in the middle as the bangs of bullets soon turned into the clicks of empty chambers. While Lario jumped back to pick of up some deflected arrows, and to avoid the generous reach the fully-formed Crescent Rose had, Ren and Rickel collided like two unstoppable forces, quickly moving into hand to hand combat. Ren slid StormFlower back into his sleeves to give him an advantage, while Rickel used her ice-coloured pistols to block his carefully-placed blows. In addition, she used the barrels to catch his wrists and momentarily pin his hands, moving in for a head butt that get Ren to stumble backward for a moment. It was a meeting a precision versus brute force, and both gunslingers took the moment to reload: stepping back as Lario, holding his bow like a club, jumped backward and then swung to meet one big swipe of the Scyther Rifle he was tasked with defeating. Finally, he picked up one of his arrows and within a few seconds, had drawn the string back and fired an arrow, with a Blue Dust tip. It was split as Ruby used the blade of the Crescent Rose to defend, though it was slightly leading to her downfall. The blue arrows hit the ground at her feet and froze her feet in place, rendering her immobile.

"Yes! See, I told ya we'd pull it off!" Lario said, twirling the bow once before starting to take a leisurely walk toward Ruby

"Uh...Rickel? Little help?" Ruby squeaked out, getting the cowgirl to finally break her blocking streak and turn to face her. She simply nodded, ducking under a round house kick before sliding on her back. She then pushed off the advancing bowman's legs and slid right through Ruby's, firing two bullets that weakened the ice enough for Ruby to escape.

"Thanks!" Ruby replied, to which Rickel simply tipped her hat in reply and kept moving. However, Lario had slung his bow in such a way that he had hooked the Crescent Rose right at the base, where the blade met the extending part of the weapon. And in an incredible display of strength, he actually pulled the Crescent Rose and Ruby over his head and slammed her into the ground, the weapon ending up upside down along with its face-down user.

"Ha! Gotcha again Red!" The clicking of a hammer and a small amount of pressure being put on Lario's Temple signaled that one of Rickel's sapphire-coloured guns was pointed right at his temple, making him freeze as he had the nigh-indestructible bow raised over his head. However, a similar clicking revealed that Ren had done the exact same thing to Rickel, shifting the gold-brimmed hat just slightly.

"It seems that we are at a stalemate." Ren said in a very calm voice, each student taking a moment to check their health bars. While Ruby and Rickel were both at half health, it was clear they worked together much better, and promptly after the Mexican Standoff began, they showcased it. Because while the three were frozen in their standoff, Ruby was able to get up again, and boy, was she ready to go.

"Not for Long. Rickel, DUCK!" She cried, hefting her massive scythe, spinning around once and flipping it so the bowman and the martial artist were caught against the shaft of the weapon, sending them across the room. Rickel, of course, ducked in time, leaving her hat to spin in the air and land on her head when she stood once more. Rickel only gave Ruby a short nod as a means of communication, raising one of her pistols to fire two blue bullets that made contact with Lario and Ren, who were tangled up with each other on the other side of the ring. Within a matter of seconds, the battle had been turned around in favour of the self-named R&amp;R Connection.

"Gah! I'm not going to lose! Not today!" With a sliver of health left on his bar, the impulsive easily angered bowman rushed forward again, holding his bow like a club again. Ren was only a few steps behind him, the team going for a final charge. It only took Ruby and Rickel a shared look before their plan was formulated, and put it into action a second later. Ruby planted the tip of the blade of her weapon into the ground behind her and took a short hop before pulling the trigger. With a burst of Rose petals, she flew forward to kick Lario in the face, riding his body like a surfboard across the smooth tiles. Ren simply ran around the obstruction in his way and kept running toward to Rickel, who looked at him for a moment before closing her eyes Ren tensed and jumped into the air as Rickel pointed one of her guns at him and fired, the other being pointed straight upward. Ren, of course, jumped to dodge the bullet and then, without even looking, Rickel fired a shot from her upraised gun that hit Ren solidly in the chest, depleting the last of his health bar and sending him upward to hit the ceiling before falling back down again. Had Ren been given the chance, it was likely he would have drawn StormFlower once more, peppering Rickel with a hail of bullets.

"Exceptional work Miss Rose, Miss Hailstorm. Good communication and levelheadedness. Please return to your seats as we review and prepare for the next fight." Glynda said as Rickel and Ruby helped their opponents up, to which Ren gladly accepted and Lario rejected, storming back to his seat.

From then on, the fights were either even or one-sided entirely. For example, a match that had Juane and the combat-skirt, armour wearing girl, who was named Rina McAllister paired up against Yang and the boy wearing scraps of cloth, who went by Dilma was one sided. Despite the advantage the spear and swords gave them, they quickly fell to the up-close and personal tactics of the brawler and the hand to hand to fighter. It also didn't help that Rina was distracted by the fact that Dilma was flirting with her, Yang, AND Juane for the duration of the fight, fuelling her rage against her on and off-again boyfriend. Some fights were won or lost simply due to the matching of weaponry and fighting styles, while others came down to which personalities clashed with which. And all fights were fairly long, with the balance of power sliding back and forth between sides many, many times.

...Well, ALMOST all of them.

"Hey Winters! You and me, one on one!" Cardin said, coming back from a fight he had just finished, cracking his knuckles. Colden, however, looked to him with a yawn, his eyes fluttering open. It seems he had fallen asleep sometime during the class, and Cardin had woken him.

"Cardin, please, there's no time for-" Glynda began, only to be cut off and talked over.

"_**Owl**_ allow it. Since he's so _**Pheasant **_ toward his classmates. Plus, it will take all of two minutes, tops." Colden said, shifting Fangdred's head off his lap, causing the dog to murr and curl up on Rickel's lap instead, still tired.

"Oh, you are so freaking dead!" Cardin said, following Colden over the railing as he jumped down over the railing once again.

"Gentlemen, I insist-" Glynda tried to interject again, but was once again spoken over.

"Miss Goodwitch, with all due respect, just let me do this. I'm going to need to swing my sword once. It'll be over before you know it." Colden was the one to speak over her again, taking out Hope's End, once more sticking it to his back as he walked into the arena.

"I'll warn ya Cardin, from _**Heron**_ out, I'm not going easy on ya."

"UURRRGH! Do you EVER shut up!?" Cardin roared, grabbing his mace in one hand, taking a swing that Colden ducked under with ease, and come back up giggling in glee.

"Nope! And that's strike one!" He said as he popped up again, grinning like a maniac. The then thrust his waist backward as Cardin took a two handed swing that just barely grazed his stomach.

"Whoa, Whiffer!" He added, a third, overhead swing causing him to roll to the side, taking his blade off his back, holding it in both hands.

"And that makes three. So, Cardin, you're out." He said, flipping his blade so the blade faced downward, the speaker still facing out. Cardin let out a wild cry and charged him, attempting to use the red dust tip inside of his mace. But he really shouldn't have come into Colden's range. With one might swing of his word, and a little push from the hidden abilities of his weapon, he had mirrored Ruby's move from earlier. Swinging like a batter at home base, he knocked Cardin clean across the room, right into the wall. There was a small silence and a few seconds before Cardin slid off the wall and hit the ground with a dull thud. A few cheers erupted from the crowd, but were quickly silenced by Glynda who held up her crop to silence them, stalking over to Colden, who was once more putting his weapon away. The bell rang as she slapped her hand down on Colden's shoulder, and in a low, dangerous voice said...

"Mr Winters, see me after class..."

So...ALOT has happened since I posted chapter one last year. Like...ALOT. Like getting some followers. Hooray!

Not that anyone reads this, but this chapter is a late memoriam/tribute to the great Monty Oum. Godspeed you wonderful man.


	3. Chapter 3

"…With a blatant disregard to my instruction, he engaged Mr. Winchester in a short battle. While I understand testosterone and hormones can run high at this age, I still expect a certain level of respect and order from any student." Glynda finished her brief report on the incident, switching off her scroll and putting it away as she waited for the verdict.

"Mr Winters. Do you have anything to say for yourself? Any defence?" A deep male voice asked which was followed by the man the voice belonged to taking a sip of his coffee. First day problems weren't a big issue with Professor Ozpin. He'd hosted other schools within Beacon before, and students had gotten in trouble on the first day before. It was all part of the transition process.

"Not really, no. I did disobey a direct order from the instructor, and took a problem I was having with another student into my own hands. I will say that I was acting on what I was taught at my home school." Colden replied in a calm, practically diplomatic voice as he sat in the chair with his arms crossed, one of his feet tapping against the floor constantly.

"Oh? And what were you taught, exactly?" Ozpin inquired, putting down his mug as he stared at the teenager across from him, putting his hands together as he gave him a harsh stare.

"You can't stop a bully from being a bully, sir. But you can sure as…"Colden paused, looking from Glynda, and then to back Ozpin before continuing."…heck knock them down a couple pegs. Mr Winchester is a bully, and an arrogant one at that. I was simply teaching him a brief lesson in humility and levelheadedness. He may have called me out, but I instigated the fight"

"But in the process, got yourself in trouble. Was it worth it?" Ozpin asked, raising an eyebrow. The kid actually knew how to talk pretty well. His dark brown eyes darted from looking at the teenager for a second, and the man began to smile broadly.

"Meh. Not my first time, and it sure won't be my last time. So I'm going to say yes. So, what are you thinking? Detention? Manual Labour? Writing Lines?" Colden asked with a sly smirk. Said smirk was quick to vanish as a massive hand touched down on his shoulder for the second time that day. It was now clear why Ozpin and Glynda had begun to smile.

Asmund the Berserker had arrived.

"Ozpin. Do an old man a favour and crack a window wide. It's been a while since I've been this far south, so I am sweltering. Now, I understand my pupil got himself into trouble, yet again?" The warrior spoke much like his student, being polite but firm with the people hosting him. Ozpin hit a button on his desk and the window behind it opened wide, letting a cool breeze enter the room.

"It's good to see you again Asmund. You're looking well. And to answer your question, yes. He got into a fight with another student despite my instruction not to." Glynda greeting the massive man with a small bow of her head and a smile.

"A picture of Power and Etiquette as always, Ms. Goodwitch. It's a pleasure to see you as well. Excuse my pupils' behaviour for the moment. I believe the new locale has gotten them quite riled up." Asmund Newgate was many, many things. A berserker. A teacher. A War Hero. A Warrior. A Husband, Father, and Grandfather. But above all else, he was a gentleman. One of the first lessons he taught was that of respecting your hosts. How he acted in front of the headmaster was a modest example of this, even though he was currently lifting Colden up by the scruff of his neck for the second time that day.

"Is he wrong, Mr. Winters?" Ozpin chimed in, having sat back in his chair as he watched the old master work.

"Well…yeah. I guess he's not wrong. New place, new people, new fights. Gets a guy pretty antsy and trigger happy. Not that I used my gun or the trigger-" Colden was cut off as Asmund growled, shutting the teenager up temporarily.

"Well, I think it's only fair if you work that energy off. Twenty-five laps around the grounds sound fair enough?" Asmund proposed after sighing heavily, rubbing a sore spot on his neck with a free hand.

"Fair enough. I'm guessing this is ending the usual way?" Colden asked, seemingly tensing a little bit as he was raised higher and higher off the ground by the mountain of a man.

"I've taught you well, my student. See you at dinner." Asmund stated simply and reared his arm back and then forward again at a much higher speed, throwing Colden right out the open window behind Ozpin.

"Goongala! GOONGALA! GOONGALAAAAAAA!" The battle cry could be heard as Colden fell from the tower, laughing like a maniac, while Glynda temporarily adapted a look of shock on her face.

"Do you…uh..do that often to your students, Mr. Newgate? And please, do take a seat." Glynda asked, adjusting her glasses. The Viking's mighty throw had plenty of power behind it, and they had been jostled during the process.

"Just with Colden. His semblance ensures that he'll land just fine. And please, call me Asmund. Makes me feel old." He said, taking Colden's previously vacated seat, the wooden chair groaning under his weight. He was truly a massive man, standing at six foot seven without a sign of flab or fat, the black sleeveless shirt he wore to cover his chest straining to do so, while the same could not be said for his admittedly loose cream coloured pants. Said pants ended when they met a pair of black books, spit shined clean, and were tied around his waist by a navy blue cloth. Resting on his back and shoulders was a massive, ornate black jacket that showed off Asmund's former military lifestyle and was somehow able to perpetually rest on his shoulders without falling off. Epaulette covered the outer edge of each shoulder of the white jacket, with the gold decoration also acting as a way to close the jacket if need be. The inside of it was a fine velvet material and a dark red one at that, and seemed to be lovingly cared for all around.

"Darling, if you feel any old I'm afraid you might go off and die on me. Throwing our students out the window so often will give you a hernia" A quiet, frail-sounding voice added to conversation as a small, hunched over woman calmly hobbled into the room, a few large strands of her off-white hair hanging under her hood. She sat down in one of the remaining chairs as she hummed a song to herself. She wore a ornate, gold trimmed, dark red hood over her head, part of a robe that covered her entire body, and was covered by a large, black fur with the same trimmings. The woman seemed downright tiny in comparison when sitting next to her husband, even more so considering her permanently hunched back and ratty, dishevelled hair.

"Fiora, my sweet, I appreciate the concern, but I didn't mean what I said. I was simply using the saying to-" The massive man was then cut off as his wife interrupted him, and the Viking neglected to fight it.

"Asmund, my darling. You promised me that you would relax while we visited Beacon. Throwing your "favourite" student around may be a step down from what you usually do, but so help me if your hurt yourself.." She spoke in the same slightly withered voice as her husband tried to formulate a defence, and ultimately had to no response to give. Ozpin had to snort into his coffee to conceal what could only be described as rare chuckle as he watched one of the most powerful men on earth get disabled by his wife. Glynda was doing her best too stay composed, but it was getting tough for her, one of the more stoic teachers at Beacon.

"Mister and Missus Newgate, would either care for a beverage? Perhaps a coffee, or tea?" Ozpin finally interjected into the lover's quiet quarrel, bringing the attention of the pair to him. Perhaps the two headmasters could finally catch up now. After all, he did have a schedule to keep.

"Better if we didn't. We've crossed a few time zones over the past week, and caffeine would screw up our internal clocks even more. Tell me, Ozpin. How are things faring down here? I've heard a lot of interesting stories about what's happened." Asmund answered, and then inquired with a small grin, sitting back in his chair, stroking his perfectly manicured moustache. The chair groaned, struggling to take his weight, but seemed to hold.

"Hopefully, you haven't heard anything too far from the truth. A small number of my students have taken it upon themselves to attack a crime syndicate in their first year. How they go about it caused a vehicle or two to crash into the bay." Ozpin sipped on his eternally-full cup of java between sentences, trying to skim over the topic. It was an internal matter, and he didn't need any more people getting involved. Ironwood was already sticking his deep into that.

"Well, I commend them for taking the initiative, instead of waiting for trouble to come to them." Asmund sat up in his seat again, clearly very interested, his chin resting on one of his hands.

"It helps that you tell our students to think for themselves. Drill it right into their brains. You're Huntsmen and Huntresses…"

"…Not soldiers." Glynda and Ozpin said simultaneously. The old man was known for his little catchphrases and sayings, but that was the most common to be heard.

"Ironic, considering that your senior staff is made up of former soldiers. How is your staff? Any new blood join the ranks?" Ozpin interjected, pushing his glasses up from the end of his nose.

"All in good health, despite the journey. Darvanshel, that determined old codger, even managed to teach a few classes when we stopped for the night." Asmund said with a chuckle, thinking of his right-hand man and oldest friend outside of Fiora. The sword-and-shield wielding man was determined to continue his lessons no matter what, even if it meant that he simply sparred with his students two or three at a time. His sword and shield were large enough to create the iron defence that was needed to take on his students, and his energy levels gave him the edge he needed to teach.

"As for new blood, just one this year. Lancia Cross has become the head chef in our kitchens. Keeps order in the cafeteria while she's at it, too." Fiora answered the latter question after her husband neglected to, one of her hands reaching up to rub the back of her neck.

"Ms. Cross…the girl who used a giant frying pan in combat?" Glynda asked, as it had been some time since Beacon had been in contact with Asmund Academy. That must have been…six or seven years since she had seen a class from that school.

"The very same. She's upgraded her weapon since she graduated. Has these remote controlled utensils that slice up the Grimm. Really a wonderful weapon to watch when she works." Fiora answered Glynda's question with a bit of a giggle, thinking of the red-headed girl they were speaking of.

"Well, give her my best. She seemed to be a promising young lady when I last saw her." Glynda said after a momentary pause, in which an awkward silence inserted itself. Within that moment, a small explosion could be heard through the open window. Asmund and Fiora looked at each other before the huge man stood, cracking his neck gently by moving his head from side to side.

"You'll have to excuse me Ozpin. I need to go check on something." The latter half of his sentence gained a grim tone as he walked out of the room, his hands tightening the black bandanna that sat upon his head as he went. Glynda, after adopting a worried look on her face, shared a glance with Ozpin, and followed the Viking out of the room.

"So…any bets on who caused the disturbance?" Ozpin stood as he spoke, going over to his personal coffee maker, which was installed into the far wall, getting himself another hot cup of coffee.

"Ours, without a doubt. They're wonderful kids, really. I love them like they're my own, but sometimes I just wish they would calm down. They're always so loud, so full of life, and hyperactive. I.." Fiora trailed off with a sigh, groaning a bit as she rubbed her back.

"Envy them?" Ozpin guessed, sitting back down behind his desk, sitting back in his chair.

"Worry for them. There are more than a couple nutcases in this world that will prosecute them for what they are. It's just a matter of how long it is until a nutcase gets himself a small army." Fiora answered, wringing her hands nervously, rocking gently in her chair.

"I have faith in your teaching style, Mrs Newgate. Your students may be rambunctious, but they all have the best of intentions. You've taught them well. Without I doubt, I'm sure your students will be able to survive what life throws at them.

"I'm guessing you're talking about that certain northern nutcase with a violent and derogatory agenda?" Ozpin inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, yes I am. Asmund thinks he's all talk, and no action. But some days, I hear what he says and I can't help but worry.'

"You, of all people, are afraid of what he says?" Ozpin was sceptical that the experienced woman.

"No. I'm afraid of what he'll do when people start listening."


	4. Chapter 4

"Come on Rickel. Three more, and then we're done. Sound fair?"

"..."

"She said th-"

"I know what she said Vargas. Three more and I have to take apart and clean her gun afterwards. Plus, I need to get her a big bag of dill pickle sunflower seeds." Colden replied turning his head to face the flaming-haired boy was sitting on the bench just beside where he stood. Rather, sitting on the back of it, with his feet on the seat as he watched the duo go through the motions once more. Vargas had changed from his red robes and black armour to a much simpler red t-shirt over a grey long sleeve and black jean ensemble due to the fact that it was a weekend and other male teammate had done the same, changing out of his 'traveling' outfit and into something more casual, when not wearing the uniform. He was now dressed in a white vest that had a beaked hood attached to it. Said vest was accented by dark blue lines running down each side of the chest and was left unzipped, showing that he wore a dark blue t-shirt underneath, accompanied by his black boots and blue jeans. The only things that stayed from his previous outfit were the burgundy-coloured gloves with the star-studded wristbands, and his headphones, placed gently around his neck. Rickel had kept her beloved hat and denim vest combo with the only changes being a dark purple shirt worn under the vest, and a light blue denim skirt that went past her knees, leaving a gap between the skirt and her boots.

"Huh. You're actually getting pretty good at that. It took me years to figure out her language fully. How did you pick it up in only a few months?" Vargas asked, cracking his neck by moving it side to side, closing his scarlet-coloured eyes and furrowing his brows as he did so. Sitting around for two hours as a guy tried to catch a high-speed fruit in his teeth wasn't exactly an activity that left you limbered up.

"Maybe it's because unlike you, I didn't spend my time trying to give a pouty look at anyone that came within ten feet of her?" Colden quipped, raising an eyebrow and grinning. However, he was forced to duck as Rickel took a swing at him one of her guns, shaking her head in disapproval. It was more of a disciplinary blow than it was defending her boyfriend, who in turn stood up and got right up in Colden's face, letting off a low growl.

"You wanna say that again?" Vargas furrowed his brows and crossed his arms, sticking his bottom lip out just slightly.

"There! There it is! There's the look!" Colden laughed and dodged a swing from Vargas, even taking a few steps back as he chortled, which only caused the flaming-haired boy to flare up even more. Just as Vargas was about to reach for his weapon, and Colden was standing still in front of him, a halberd came down between them, with the small point touching Vargas' neck, while the axe head was against Colden's. If either boy dared to look at the owner of the weapon, they would have seen the last member of Team CRAV, Amy MacTavish. The strawberry blonde-haired girl was currently sat upon the bench Vargas had previously been occupying with one of her hands, encased in simple grey gloves, holding her weapon forward, while the other leafed through a book on her lap. Her dark green eyes were downcast, focused on her literature, her face almost hidden by the waist-length hair she had. Two bangs popped over a silver metal headband she wore over her forehead, perfectly framing her face.

"Colden, that was out of line, even for you. Vargas, please de-stress yourself, and let this one go. He's cranky this morning." She spoke in a bored tone, as if she had done this many times before, licking her thumb before she turned the page yet again.

"Now, I'm going to put Xeimon down again. Colden, I want you to apologize." Amy continued, leaning her halberd against a nearby railing, letting off a deep sigh.

"I'm not cr-"

"Colden, I've lived next door to you all my life. We've been friends since we were in diapers. I know that when you don't eat, you get quippy and petty with said quips. Now apologize. And for god's sake, eat something" Amy cut off Colden as he started to speak, giving him a harsh look that caused him to shut his mouth rather quickly, and then look down at his feet.

"As usual, Amelia, you're right. Vargas, I'm sorry, I was out of line." Colden said after a moment of silence, sticking out his hand for Vargas to shake. After a moment of hesitation, Vargas grinned and grabbed his hand tightly. It quickly turned into a quick game of who could grip the other's hand the tightest, while also trying not to let go.

"Keep the quips less personal, Mr Anime Hair, and yeah, we're good." He said with a grin, finally letting go at the same time as Colden, both holding their hands behind their backs to hide the pain. It lasted about two minutes before they broke off at the exact same time, clenching and unclenching their hurting hands afterward. Amy was slightly astonished at how quickly the two started and ended their argument, without so much as a punch thrown. Even she would hold a grudge for at least an hour, minimum. Then again, more than a few psychology books that she had read suggested that boys have pettier arguments and could let it go much easier. She mused that her surprise was misplaced, and then returned to the sixteenth book in the _Ninjas of Love _series. Xander was about to confess his love to Kwan, and a ninja war was looming on the horizon…

Amy ignored another gunshot from Rickel and Colden's attempt to catch the grape in his mouth. She also furrowed her brow as Colden began to choke on said grape, and tried her best to ignore the groan that followed when Vargas gave Colden an impromptu Heimlich by punching him in the stomach. She simply sighed and tried to bury herself in her book again. Sometimes, she regretted being the only-

"Why is it that you guys are teammates?"

Amy fought the urge to groan, fetched her bookmark from her book bag, and closed the volume. She should have known better than to try to catch up on her reading on the last day before the second semester started. Or during the day, period. Colden would always drag her into whatever took his fancy. Extreme manhunt, high-altitude hide-and-seek, full contact tag, racing across the tops of bookshelves in the library. And all of that, surprisingly, without getting in trouble once. They always made an endeavour to make sure nobody had known they were there, even go so far as to fetch older students from their school to help them re-forge or simply help undo dents they made in walls or lockers. Most often it was Galant, a truncheon-wielding blacksmith with an extremely laid back personality and a knack for being able to fix anything. Plus, seeing the spiked, flaming bat making contact with the heads of those who broke whatever Galant was fixing was satisfying to watch.

"Well Weiss that is a long, long story. Mostly revolving around our orientation." A red-faced Colden wheezed as he recover from his choking fit, giving the heiress a weak wave and Vargas patted him on the back a bit too hard, sending him to the ground again.

"Not really a long story. Our actual orientation was the longest part. The story is actually pretty simple." Vargas countered, giving Colden a hand up onto his feet, where he began to catch his breath.

"Do you have the time to listen to it?" Colden asked, spurring Weiss to quickly check her scroll, and then shrug.

"I have ten minutes before Ruby is supposed to show up. But-" Weiss began lifting a hand up as if she was trying to make a point, but was cut off as Colden began to speak.

"Great! Well, to explain how we met, you need a bit of context about _what_ our orientation actually is at Asmund Academy." Colden began, shoving his hands into his pants pockets to keep them occupied.

"In the simplest terms, it's a month-long survival mission on the huuuuuge glacier way out in the middle of nowhere. Nobody can cheat and hide in some building in a nearby town" Vargas continued, Amy suddenly jumping into the conversation with a tone that was a few levels above emotionless.

"It's gotten so large that we have to parachute in at the start, and the glacier has developed its own ecosystem and by extension, its own Grimm infestation. Due to some art that one enterprising and creative student put on one side, it's affectionately known as "Asmund's Asscrack", even by Headmaster Asmund himself." She had opened up her book again, and had relayed the information without even looking up.

"How-" Weiss began again, before getting cut off. AGAIN.

"Eidetic memory. That, and first-hand experience." Amy answered, turning the page of her book after licking one of her fingers. Weiss actually looked to Rickel, expecting her to say some little tidbit of information. She only gave a shrug and an apologetic, sympathetic look, as if to say "_Sorry. You can't stop 'em once they get going_."

"So anyway. Month-long survival mission on Asmund's Asscrack. And it's this whole lesson about dropping your pride and working together with others, no matter who they are. Only catch is, you're forced to partner with the first person you see." Colden jumped back in, actually jumping a short distance to gain Weiss' attention, before she spoke again.

"We had that in our orientation too, but-" For a third time, Weiss was cut off. She just couldn't catch a break!

"After that, though teams are flexible, usually with a maximum of six or seven. So it is kind of a priority to find your friends. Or at least one of them." Vargas was the one to cut her off this time, placing a hand on Rickel's shoulder, the flaming-haired and raven-haired couple sharing a smile and warm look.

"But Lady Luck was feeling…meh…that day. So I ended up finding Rickel making herself a little treehouse while I was running through the trees. She had, after about a day, tied a bunch of branches together to make a floor and a few walls. One of which I crashed through by accident." Colden continued, making a high pitched noise and shaking his hand a little bit to signal the tipping of scales when he first began to speak, taking a more relaxed position as he continued his information dump.

"And I encountered Amelia as she was finishing off her…" Vargas paused, looking to Amy so that she could finish the sentence.

"Third."

"..Third Ursa. After a day or two, we found the Pup over here hanging upside down from a tree branch, using himself as bait while Rickel snuck up on the Beowulf.

"I wouldn't say I was bait so much as I was…"

"You were bait, Colden." Amy interjected into the conversation.

"Yeah, I was bait. Anyway, since by some chance we managed to find each other's friends, girlfriend in Vargas' case, there was no choice, so we teamed up. But Matches over here and I still butt heads on occasion." Colden finished. And finally, after getting cut off three times, Weiss was able to speak.

"But I already knew most of that."

"…What?" Amy said, her monotone finally breaking, actually sounding mildly surprised.

"I've been trying to say that I knew about that stuff. You just kept cutting me off."

"So you knew everything?" Colden asked, pursing his lips together in a thin line.

"Save for the Asscrack thing, yes. I did my research before choosing to come to Beacon."

"So you know that our school is an old war fortress?"

"Yes, I do Colden."

"Huh. Then I guess there was no point to that whole information dump then, eh?" Vargas asked, Rickel slowly drying of silent laughter, holding her stomach as she stood doubled over.

"A lot of pointless exposition done for no reason." Weiss nodded in agreement, her arms crossed as the four visiting students, her expression one of mild amusement. She had to admit, it was kind of funny, seeing them standing there slack-jawed and wide-eyed.

"Well…sorry to keep you." Colden replied, scratching the back of his head nervously. What followed was about a solid minute of silence before another voice suddenly broke it.

"Is that Ninjas of Love, Volume Sixteen?"

Quite literally out of nowhere, Blake Belladonna had appeared, perched on top of the bench that Amelia was sat upon. Colden and Weiss jumped at her intrusion, with Weiss bumping into Colden, who was quickly over the scare. Instead, he was staring at Blake, his brows furrowed, a small frown upon his face. But now that Weiss was closer to Colden, she could see something sticking out of the bush that made up his head of gray hair. Were those...

"You know, I almost thought you were my owl. He appears out of nowhere like that all the time." Amelia said as she placed the bookmark within the volume, handing Blake the book so that she could look like it.

"Is he magic or something?" Weiss suddenly asked, looking from Amelia and then back to Colden again. Her hairstyle was so severe in comparison to Colden's bush. It was almost as if he was hiding something...

"No. But he has earned the affectionate nickname "Hoo-dini" from my teammates. And embraced it." Amelia replied, a small smile gracing her face, her voice finally gaining a tone that expressed interest and warmth.

"Huh. Well, I'm one volume behind, and I can't seem to find it-" Blake began, and was suddenly silenced as Amelia produced Ninjas of Love Volume Fifteen from her book bag, holding it out to the dark-haired girl, who fully sat down on the bench as she took the book into her hands, looking as if she had found the holy grail.

"How-"

"My dad knows a guy who works at the publisher. I get advance copies all the time."

"Can I-"

"Yes you can borrow it. It will be fantastic to have someone to talk to about this series."

"And Volume Seven-"

"Seventeen arrives next month. And quite frankly Miss…" Amelia trailed off, hoping the dark-haired beauty would introduce herself. Despite her usual habit of cutting people off, her tone of voice was actually quite chipper, her eyes full of life.

"Belladonna. Blake Belladonna." Blake suddenly said, wanting ever so much to crack open the book and start reading.

"Quite frankly Miss Blake, I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship. I'm Amelia MacTavish" Blake simply nodded in agreement, taking a seat beside Amelia and cracking open the volume

"Colden. Are those...Wolf ears?" Weiss had finally found the words she wanted to ask, her head slightly tilted to one side to get a better look at them.

"..Yeah. Why do you ask?" Colden asked, reaching up to flatten his bush of hair, showing off two silver ears that were distinctly wolf-like. He twitched one, and then the other, as if waving hello to everyone.

"You're a Faunus?" Weiss continued, rubbing her temples with her fingers. It did make sense, in retrospective. Hyperactivity was a common trope among puppies...

"Is that a problem? You don't seem to have a problem with the cat Faunus over there. She's probably known since the first time Rickel and I sat at the table." Colden casually said, pointing over to Blake, who only looked up from her book in mild surprise.

"I've suspected he was a Faunus of some kind, from the way he smelled. Couldn't tell which kind though." Blake confirmed Colden's claim in a distracted tone, her eyes now downcast on the book again, Rickel and Vargas looking awkwardly at each other, and at Colden.

"Well, you could have at least told us, or your teammates, for that matter!" Weiss said with a huff, crossing her arms and raising her nose slightly, looking away from Colden, who winced a little bit.

"Actually.." He began, Vargas stepping as Colden trailed off...

"Rickel and I, well we're Faunus too. Phoenix and Alkyonide" He said simply, suddenly pulling up his shirt, a pair of dark red wings, which had hints of orange on the edges, popping free. They were almost five or six feet in length, so Vargas curled his around himself to avoid hitting people with it. As it was with his hair, the wings looked as if they were mildly burning, letting off a few embers and puffs of smoke, with harsh edges making them look as if bat wings had been stuck onto his back and set on fire. Rickel, on the other hand, had feathery wings that looked as if they were frozen, and shed a few snowflakes as they unfurled. They were about equal in size to Vargas, but clearly Rickel had more dexterity with hers, from the way she moved them around, stretching them out and shedding more snowflakes onto the ground. She gave a bemused look to Vargas, shaking her head as she looked upon her partner's position, stuck with his shirt up around his shoulders. Rickel seemingly had small slits into he back of her clothing so that so could easily reveal and make use of her wings.

"I forgot to wear the right shirt, alright? I, didn't think we'd be showing them off." Vargas said, his face going a shade of red that matched his hair, giving a harsh looks toward Colden. Colden silently pointed a finger toward the still-reading Blake. She had triggered his reflexes and made his ears pop up. Not that he was explicitly trying to keep it a secret, mind you. Speaking of secrets though. Team CRAV and Blake might have to swear to secrecy about how they drove the Schnee into madness, judging from the anguished sound coming from her mouth.

"And what about Amelia, huh? Is she hiding a tail under that dress or something!? Weiss asked, pointing to Amy before starting to pace back and forth, fuming and mumbling under her breath.

"No, actually, I'm the only human on this team. Also, this shouldn't have come as a surprise, if you did your research. Asmund Academy has an 85% Faunus enrollment rate." Amy replied, still smiling as she leafed through her book. Blake looked up from her book, giving a look of mild surprise at the tidbit of information before going back to reading. She just had to get caught up...

"I...urgh...but...RRRRGH!" Weiss' mind had finally had enough, so the heiress stormed off with her hands balled up into fists, grabbing the arriving Ruby as she went, dragging her back toward the castle by the end of her cape. The confused scythe wielder simply shrugged, and then went with her fuming teammate to wherever the destination was.

About a minute later Weiss stomped back in with Ruby still in tow, pointed at Colden, and spoke.

" By the way! If you want to do that STUPID bullet catch trick, you need to bend your knees more and relax your jaw. Now good day!"

"But-"

"I SAID GOOD DAY!" Weiss cut Colden off before he could speak and dragged Ruby off again, heading toward the town as she had originally intended. Ruby, sensing that her teammate would need to rant soon enough, simply gave a weak wave and then pointed to Blake, as if signaling that she would explain. And after a minute of silence, she did.

"Don't take that last part personally. Apparently she's always wanted to say that to someone." Blake explained, having got the silent cue from Ruby to speak.

"So...if I ever want to talk to her again I should...?" Colden asked, pointing in the general direction that Weiss and Ruby had left in, his lips forming a thin line as he waited for an answer.

"Give her a day or two, let her process the information and rant. You did drop a big information bomb on the daughter of...well.."

"One of the families that are most targeted by Faunus extremists?" Colden finished, raising an eyebrow.

"Correct. " Blake simply replied, suddenly leaning closer to Amy to whisper something, pointing at the page her book was open to. It took a moment, but Colden suddenly had a look of realization and knowing on his face.

"Well, I need to go get lunch. Vargas, Rickel, you coming?" Colden suddenly asked, putting one hand on each of his friend's shoulders.

"Wait, aren't we going to finish-" Vargas was cut off as Colden smacked him upside the head, and began speaking through gritted teeth.

"Let's go get some lunch. Leave the book club alone." Colden said slowly, motioning his head toward the pair on the bench. It took Rickel giving him a look that screamed "we need to leave" for it to finally clicked in his mouth. His mouth opened and made an "o" shape in realization and closed silently before he nodded and patted his stomach.

"Yeah, I guess I am famished." Vargas said, the trio stopping to pick up their weapons before heading toward the castle, engaging in mild conversation.

After that, there was a long silence as the pair sat there, reading their respective books. Finally, Blake lifted her gaze from her book and turned to look at the strawberry blonde.

"Amelia?"

"Yes Blake?" Amy said as she closed her volume, sticking a bookmark in it before turning to face the Faunus girl with a smile.

"Why do you cut people off when they ask questions?" Blake inquired. It was mildly annoying that Amy never let a word in edgewise while in conversation.

"Usually because I know the answer before they ask the question."

"That...actually makes more sense than it should. I'm guessing Colden frequents the same question alot."

"Three times a day, usually. Rickel usually handles reminding Vargas though. Has some interesting ways to make Vargas remember things."

"And all without saying a word?" To that question, Amy just shrugged her shoulders and gave off a small smile.

"Apparently she can talk using her body language, but I've yet to decipher it. It might be a matter of time, or maybe it's a Faunus thing. Did you hear anything just before they left?" Amelia asked, absentmindedly scratching an itch on her knee.

"..Now that I think about it, I did hear some faint rumbling coming from her direction." Blake said, blinking as a look of realization coming over her face.

"Perhaps it's best if we leave it as a mystery."

"Agreed." Blake said simply before the duo cracked open their books again, taking advantage of the mid-day weather to the best of their ability.

"Amelia, those are some...eccentric teammates you have there." Blake commented after a minute, casually turning a page.

"They're crazy, loud, destructive...and quite frankly, make it impossible to get any homework done. But-"

"You love them deep down and wouldn't trade them away for anything." Blake smirked as she cut off Amelia, who nodded with a similar smirk on her face.

"Correct. And please, call me Amy."

* * *

Okay...WOW. I am a lazy ass who really, really needs to start writing faster. Like, holy shit there's one week until volume three. Wait...THERE'S ONE WEEK UNTIL VOLUME THREE!

**SEE NOTE HERE:** Since I saw the hype for volume three, I have updated Colden's weapon to something slightly more original, with a different name. Go back to chapter two and re-read that if you want to know

Anyway, in the next chapter, I will get into the Volume Two content, starting with the ever so glorious...well...you can guess. Also, could someone, anyone give this story an actual review on ? Even if it just says five words, I'd be happy.


	5. Chapter 5

It took the few seconds between the one banana cream pie (which was a waste really) making contact with Yang's face, and her reaction for Team CRAV to make eye contact with one another and conduct a mutually agreed upon plan.

Run like HELL for the kitchen and pray for the best.

"FOOD FIGHT!" Someone within the cafeteria yelled at the top of their lungs, spurring the team of northern nightmares into action. Amelia moved first, vaulting herself over the table through the space where Vargas used to be, as the flaming headed boy had ducked before rolling and joining his team in the sprint to the kitchen. As the first glob of mashed potatoes was lobbed through the air by a VERY angry brawler, Rickel grabbed her beloved hat off the table and slid under it, coming out clean on the other side. As the returning fire began, Colden did a handstand on the table before launching himself forward, sliding on his knees before launching himself through a small window into the now-vacated kitchens, and landed right between Amelia and Vargas, with Rickel sitting across from them.

For once, all four teams were dressed close to identical, save for Rickel's trademark hat, and a sweater vest that Amelia had decided to wear over their usual school uniform. Which meant that all four were dressed in dark grey pants and navy blue collared shirts, with the golden logo of Asmund Academy stitched on in the breast area. While skirts were available, (alongside white shirts, for variety) for some reason, pants had all been put on by the four members. A complete fluke.

"It seems as if I picked the right day to wear pants." Amelia commented, about to peak up over the edge of the serving window until a handful of applesauce came flying through, splattering on a nearby industrial fridge. She ducked, keeping her head down as a few screams sounded from the much larger room not too far from the foursome.

"Agreed." Vargas and Colden said in union, not trying to counter each other for once. They ducked their heads as banana peels and apple cores flew through the window for the next few minutes. At least until they heard the large doors at the one end of the building open, and a felt a stampede head that. After that, it was eerily quiet. Colden stuck two fingers up and gestured his team to come forward, and then to peek over the edge. Which they promptly did, eyes just peeking over the linoleum countertop.

"Are they building…?" Colden began, turning to Amelia for conformation on what he was seeing.

"A castle. They're building a castle out of tables." Amelia confirmed with a nod of her head, her voice being a mix of mild annoyance and some semblance of surprise.

"…"

"Well, yes the architecture is nice, Rickel. We're more surprised at how quickly they built it." Vargas said, reiterating Rickel's comment with a shrug before gesturing to the table structure that Team JNPR was currently putting the finishing touches on.

"…"

"I asked Ren after class the other day. Apparently her fixation on castles comes from their orientation." Amelia replied after getting the translation from Colden whispered into her ear, her eyes narrowing and looking at the structure intently.

"Boys, do you see how weak the legs on the bottom are?" Amelia suddenly asked, a grin coming upon her face as she turned to face her teammates. Rickel would have easily seen it, considering her avian eyesight, so it was a matter of the Wolf and the Phoenix being observant enough. They nodded, their faces showing confusion for a few seconds. At least, until Rickel slapped her palm with her fist, adjusting her hat on her head afterward. Colden suddenly grinned, and then Vargas followed suit, the flaming-haired boy's gaze going to the refrigerators and freezers around them. Colden turned to Amelia, saying three simple words, who replied promptly with a grin.

"Storm the Castle?"

"Yes, Colden. Storm the Castle."

As the foursome vaulted themselves over sinks and cutting tables, heading toward the floor-to-ceiling cupboards, one of the doors opened in front of them. Out of the cupboard, still clad in her red-and-amber-gold robe, hobbled Fiora Newgate, humming and mumbling a shanty to herself, teabags in hand. She jumped up onto a nearby stool, filled a kettle with water, and then put it on the nearest active burner before turning to face the fearsome foursome.

"Students." Fiora said, her weak old voice stopping them in their tracks, and compelling them to turn and stand at attention.

"Headmistress Fiora! What a surprise!" Colden said, forcing a toothy grin to come to his face, his teammates mimicking the slightly eerie smile, hands behinds their backs.

"And just _where_, pray tell, where you going?" Fiora asked with a sigh, reaching up under her hood to rub her temples, or something in the same area.

"For a nice snack..?" Vargas asked, his voice gaining a high pitch as he spoke, the flaming-haired boy standing on his tip toes for a moment.

"Vargas, I may be old, but I'm not senile. You were going to go join that food fight." Fiora countered, one of her golden eyes suddenly became visible under her hood, causing all four students to wince, and then nod. Busted.

"Well, you're not going to find anything half decent in those cupboards. All crackers and spices. Go to the freezer instead. Frozens are the way to win." She spoke quite casually, as if telling them it was easier to catch flies with honey then with vinegar. The four looked up, a little bit confused. Did that mean…?

"Before you ask, yes. Go and enjoy yourselves." Fiora cut off Amelia before she could speak, silencing the human with a single finger before shooing the teenagers away. She watched with a mild amusement as the four picked out their surrogate weapons, most of which consisted of frozen meat. Vargas had decided to brandish a massive tuna, while Amelia had simply grabbed a frozen turkey and stuck a metal pole into it. The wings of said turkey were taken by Rickel, choosing to use them as impromptu knuckledusters. And finally, their fearless leader and had broken off a rib rack that he needed two hands to brandish thanks to the metal pole sticking through the four or five servings of meat.

"Kids..." She murmured to herself, watching them leave before turning to attend to her now whistling teapot. However a massive hand, that of her husband, took the teapot off the burner for her, setting it down next to the teacups so that she could pour for the both of them.

"You shouldn't encourage that kind of behaviour." Asmund said softly, plopping down on the floor beside Fiora's stool so that they could converse face to face

"Now, now Asmund. It wasn't too long ago that you were tearing through a food fight or two." She countered, putting two teabags into each teacup before pouring the hot water. The Newgates really loved their tea so thick that it was almost solid in places, and had drunk it like that for years.

"But I have this itching feeling that I don't watch over them, they'll end up blowing up half the school." Asmund said with a sigh, rubbing his temples before Fiora leaned over to rub his back gently.

"That's the sort of talk that will lead to your sixth heart attack. And all of the students who major in explosives have been told to NOT use them inside."

"But Miss Hyacinth..."

"Doesn't have any explosive ammunition. Now drink your tea." Fiora said, placing the burning hot cup into her husband's hand, taking the berserker out of his stupor of thought.

"I swear…if these kids aren't on their best behaviour, they'll be the death of me." Asmund mused before sipping on the tea. "Needs more sugar." He commented, grabbing a pinch between his fingers to add it to his cup.

"They're just that though, Asmund. Kids. Kids who need to reap their wild sows for a while. Leave them be. And you died twenty years ago, the Grim Reaper is just too scared to tell you."

"Heh. More like too scared of you." Asmund shot back before the couple deteriorated into cackles.

The second that Team CRAV hopped through the double doors, they witnessed the heiress flying through the air and smacking into the far wall. A collective, sympathetic "Ooooh" was quick to come from their mouths. Even after Ruby made the save and got her out from under the falling pillar, it was painful to watch.

"So. Mind if I take the lead then?" Colden suddenly asked, turning to his teammates, who seemed to shrug. Rickel started to sign something, and then motioned to the heiress.

"Not because of that, Rickel. I'm just the loudest out of the four of us." Colden replied, furrowing his brow.

"Ain't that the truth?" Vargas and Amy simultaneously muttered under their breaths, which only earned an eye roll from Colden, who charged forward, ribs rack in hand, doing a nearly flawless flip(a leftover banana peel made him slip a little bit) as he stood on the table, using his makeshift weapon to point.

"QUEEN VALKYRIE! I CHALLENGE YOU FOR YOUR CROWN, AND CASTLE!" He bellowed at the top of his lungs before starting to charge toward Nora, a wild look in his eye.

"HA! YOU DARE CHALLENGE THE QUEEN!? I'LL DEFEND MY CASTLE!" Nora returned the hamminess of the conversation with great enthusiasm, leaping to the ceiling to grab a discarded metal bar of her own, breaking it off with ease. She did a three-point landing and stuck her rod into the watermelon before rushing ahead to meet Colden in the field of battle. The wolf boy kicked up a few discarded plates, most of which held mashed potatoes and bananas, all of which were blocked by the large watermelon Nora had chosen to wield.

"Ha!" Nora jumped, intending to smash the usurper and cover his face in fruit juices and seeds, only for Colden, despite the weight of his makeshift weapon, to slide on his knees under her, popping back up without breaking his stride. He took a wide swing at the alleged "Queen" with his rib rack, only to be blocked by the metal handle of the "hammer" Nora had crafted.

"…Cheater! You're using frozens in a food fight!" Nora said with a gasp, somehow using one of her hands to point at the grey-haired boy a few steps away from her. Colden rolled his eyes again before he retorted, spying his team moving into action out of the corner of his eye.

"Like there are rules to a food fight!" Colden retorted, regretting the words a few seconds later. Mostly because Nora, in the assumption of no rules, kicked one of the plates that Colden was standing on, making him lose his stance for a split second. Said moment was used to smack the rib sword out of Colden's hand, rear her melon hammer back, and swing it like a bat. The impact created a small shockwave that made Colden's teeth rattle, and the tables shake before he took flight. The "castle" got farther and farther away with each passing second, and Colden was able to see his team at work, if only in split second snapshots.

Vargas, for some reason, was just sitting against the wall, using his semblance to cook the tuna he had taken from the freezer. Either he wasn't up to the fight, or he actually wanted to eat the food instead of wasting it. He was a fan of fine dining, after all…

Rickel was momentarily mixed up with Yang, using the turkey wings and good ol' fisticuffs to match the brawler punch for punch, her beloved hat getting left behind every time she dodged blow, only for her to pop back up and put it on. It was almost cartoonish, it happened so often.

Amy was combating Ren, slowly advancing forward as she twirled her turkey pike around, deflecting the food as fast as Ren could kick or throw it at her. Her face was calm, almost as if calculating the trajectory and speed of each before deflecting it, finally spinning her body around once, thrusting the turkey end of her weapon in Ren's stomach. Not even a second later, Pyrrha moved in with an extra-long, extra stale breadstick, which somehow was able to withstand hitting the frozen bird. What followed (Or Colden assumed followed) was a flurry of fancy footwork as the pike wielder and spear wielder clashed, Amy doing an epic dodge, the bottom of the breadstick just brushing her nose.

Then, Colden finally hit the wall.

The stone cracked from the impact, the wolf Faunus letting out an "oof" noise as the velocity stuck him to the wall upside down, just beside where the pillar had fallen a minute or two beforehand. Ruby was still there, ramping up to go take vengeance on the hammer-wielding girl on the other end of the room, Weiss sitting as she recovered from the impact.

"Hey Colden. You okay?" Ruby said offhandedly, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike.

"Hey Ruby, Weiss. And meh. I've had worse wrestling with my sister." Colden answered with a shrug, surprised he was still stuck to the wall. Either Nora was stronger than she already looked, or he had some killer static electricity built up.

"Cool. VENGEANCE!" Ruby screamed at the top of her lungs, using her semblance to boost herself forward into the fray, leaving the heiress and the swordsman alone, watching the chaos unfold.

"So…you alright? You seemed pretty pissed the other day about my team's…"

"Heritage?" Weiss suggested after Colden trailed off in an attempt to think of the right word.

"Perfect! Yeah, our heritage. We've been sort of brainstorming on exactly _why_ you were so angry. Is it the fact that we're Faunus?" Colden asked, moving his head to look at Weiss, who got a look of disgust on her face.

"NO! It's not that! It's-ugh. It's difficult to explain, okay?" Weiss said, finally crossing her arms, seemingly pouting in frustration.

"…I honestly think I might be stuck here until dinner. And I have two sets of ears to listen. Give it a go." Colden with a toothy grin, trying to pry himself off the wall, bit by bit. Man, he as more stuck then when Snowden put him through the shed door back home!

"Look, I-it's complicated. I felt mad at you for not telling, but more frustrated with myself. I assumed that since I was a Schnee, you felt you had to hide your Faunus heritage around me. Like I was going to call you names and smite you, because of my family name." Weiss admitted after a short silence, of her hands moving to scratch at the back of her head in the brief silence that followed.

"…What? No! I-No! I honestly almost forgot you were a Schnee for a good day or two there. The whole "hide your animal parts" thing came from Moony himself. Something about a radical that lived in the northern parts of Vale and the southern parts of Atlas. But no! We didn't hide because you were a Schnee!" Colden replied, the middle sentences of his explanation were spoken considerably faster, as if brushing the topic under a metaphorical rug. But the rest of his explanation was heartfelt.

"It's just that after Blake revealed that she was a cat Faunus…" Weiss suddenly paused, giving Colden a "If you tell a soul I will know and I will end you" look before continuing. "..I've wanted to make more Faunus friends. You seemed like the best candidate. That is, assuming you still want to be friends. " Weiss finished, finally standing up, watching Ruby prepare her final charge, a particularly giant horde of Soda cans being lifted off the ground. That didn't look good…

"C'mon! Of course we can friend it up!" Colden exclaimed, suddenly fall off the wall, face planting before popping up again, the grin still on his face. "Well would you look at that! I'm already **falling** for ya!" Colden said with a chuckle. Weiss's cheeks turned red at that comment, but was unable to reply due to the fact that Ruby had literally swept up the entire room with her semblance, lifting both her and Colden off the ground. (She would later find out the events were separate, and it had been the work of one Glynda Goodwitch putting the room back together.) Weiss closed her eyes as she flew high, keeping her hands on her skirt to make sure it didn't billow up in her temporary flight, uncontrollably spinning as she crossed the room. She only opened her eyes when her rear hit the seat of one of the lunch tables, seeing Team JNPR (plus Vargas, for some reason) pinned against the wall in a technicolour rainbow. Yang was still in the air, Rickel was just lying on the floor, looked fairly winded, and Blake was sitting across from her, looking about equally surprised at the turn of events. Colden, flying considerably lower, skidded across the seats at a considerable pace, eventually landing right beside Weiss, a calm look on his face, like it had happened to him before.

"Ah!" A cry suddenly came from above, and within seconds a strawberry blonde blur descended, landing right in Blake's lap. Somehow Amy had been stuck to the ceiling for an extended amount of time, and had only just dismounted, conveniently landing on Blake's lap.

"…Hi." Amy said after a few moments of silence, eyes wide as she stared at the cat Faunus, who simply stared back.

"Hi." Blake replied, his lips forming a small line in the small silence that followed.

"I sent the PDF of that book you wanted last night. Have you begun reading yet?" Amy asked. Yang suddenly burst in through the ceiling with perfect timing, slamming into the ground and causing it to shake violently.

"You kidding? She was up all night reading it!" She exclaimed before deciding to just lay on the floor for a bit, face down. Nobody was really sure what set it off, whether it was the back-to-back landings, Yang's comment, or the fact that Vargas was just peeling himself off the wall, covered completely in green goop, but the entire group just started to laugh uncontrollably. It got to the point where Amy, ever a stoic, laughed hard enough to fall off of Blake's lap.

After ten minutes and a half-hearted lecture about being considerate of other's meals by some very peeved cooks, the three teams were kicked out of the cafeteria with a mild suggestion to work off their energy outside. Team JNPR chose to retreat to their dorm and wash the collective gunk out of their uniforms, Nora yelling about a rematch for the Crown as she was dragged around the corner. Apparently she wasn't fond of draws in battle.

"So what are your things?" Yang asked as they walked onto the large grass square, the brawler watching as some of the soda plastering the walls was slowly washed off.

"I-…What?" Vargas said, stuffing one of the many napkins he was using it wipe himself down into his pocket. Much akin to the rest of his team, Vargas was highly confused at the question Yang proposed.

"I think Yang meant your semblances. I think she's still a little-OOF-woozy." Ruby translated, suddenly having to shoulder the weight of her sister leaning on her rather heavily. A collective "oh!" came from the four Asmund Academy students, and began to exchange, as if trying to delegate who went first in this situation. Finally, Rickel raised her hand, as if to volunteer, and began to sign, with Vargas translating for her.

"Rickel, due to her avian traits, has uncanny accuracy from great distances. Eagle Eye, basically. Hmm…Colden. Serve up?" Vargas asked, pulling a metal can that was stuck to his back, throwing it upward. Colden, using Vargas' shoulder to boost himself up, kicking the can up further skyward, making it almost a dot in mid-air.

"Observe." Vargas continued as Rickel picked up a few pinecones from the ground, calmly squinting her eyes as she focused on the can. She threw the pinecones upward, the small items ascending at surprising speed, each one hitting the can, making it flip and spin faster with each impact, the final pinecone piercing the thin metal of the can. Rickel caught each of the pinecones as they came down, holding out her hat to catch the can before tossing said can into a trash bin…which was located on the other side of the small pavilion.

"Ooooh." Ruby was wide eyed as the display, shaking a little bit on her boots, a wide grin on her face. Being a sniper, she was probably half-wishing that was her semblance. Rickel brushed some of her hair behind her shoulder as Ruby clapped excitedly, taking a seat on a nearby bench. She pulled out a small water bottle from her school bag, and proceeded to take a few gulps. Seems using it took a considerable amount of energy. Colden then gave Vargas a pat on the shoulder, the red-headed boy shaking his head no. Another clap on the back resulted in Vargas shaking his head again. There was a shared look before Colden and Vargas began to wrestle, which caused Amy to sigh and step forward, clearing her throat before speaking.

"While my teammates are working out their differences, I will explain and demonstrate my semblance. Does anyone happen to have a firearm on their person?" Amy asked, to which each member shook their heads, at least until Yang pulled out her scroll, furiously tapping. The sound of a rocket being launched, and then a creaking door opening came from above.

"Just give Ember Celica a second to pop up…" Yang mumbled, raising one of her arms into the air. And from above, like a care package, came one of her signature shotgun gauntlets, recently shined and reloaded, landing perfectly on her arm. She gave the weapon a quick kiss after it landed and whispered something that sounded like "Hello beautiful" before turning to Amy.

"Alright, I'm ready. What'll you have me do?" Yang asked, doing a quick ammo check before looking down at Amy with a grin.

"Shoot me." Amy said quite bluntly, walking a good ten steps away before turning to face the blonde brawler again. Her face didn't change from the calm, almost monotone visage it wore.

"Say again?" Yang replied, blinking a couple of times. I mean, she wasn't at point blank range anymore, but still. Eber Celica was a powerful weapon. If something went wrong, Amy could be seriously hurt.

"With your weapon, please shoot at me. Don't worry. I once had Colden release his load on me." Amy replied in a more confident tone, not noticing the snort that came from the armed blonde across from her, nor the chuckles that Colden and Vargas, who were still wrestling, were trying to muffle.

"…Too easy to joke about. Just be careful, okay?" Amy simply nodded in return and dug in with her heels as Yang her weaponized arm back. Yang then punched the air in front of her, a crack filling the air as the gauntlet weapon fired a single, rather large orange bullet.

Amy raised her hands and took a breath before focusing her eyes on the bullet flying toward her. She seemed to inhale again, her strawberry blonde hair suddenly leaving the usual organized look, spreading out and lifting as the bullet neared closer and closer. By the time the bullet made impact, it looked as if she had a halo of some kind. She braced, and with a small flash of golden light, the bullet was gone. Amy's hair returned to the organized style, her hand still outstretched, now crackling with energy.

"Acute Velocity Absorption and Reapproximation. Or…" Amy paused, suddenly pointing her hand toward the two tussling boys a few feet away from her. She seemed to curl her pinky finger once, and the energy and speed of the bullet was fired at Colden and Vargas, blowing them apart. A chorus of "ooh" in admiration sounded from Team RWBY, Yang breathing a sigh of relief.

"Energy Redirection." Amy finished as Colden and Vargas dusted themselves off, looking a little miffed at the treatment, but had their issue settled. Vargas stepped forward, still scraping a bit of soot away from his face.

"I'm a Phoenix, right? You'd think I'd be able to throw fireballs or something like that. Nope! My semblance is to be a fragging microwave." Vargas muttered reluctantly, taking a frozen burrito that Rickel had saved from the freezer and tossed into her satchel. Vargas then tapped the aluminum-wrapped package with his fist, signaling just how frozen it was before laying it across the palms of his hands. He made a small "Hnng" noise, gritting his teeth together. And soon enough, the aluminum foil began to pop a little bit, and the smell of burrito soon filled the air. Amy, who was brushing some static out of her hair with her hand, spoke as Vargas unwrapped the burrito. It was a perfect golden brown colour, and made a few of the teenagers around regret wasting all of the food inside.

"Vargas doesn't see the practical applications of being able to control heat waves. Once he gains the ability to manifest them at a distance, he could easily cook the Grimm internally before they even touched him." Amy explained while Vargas took a big bite out of a burrito, waiting until he swallowed to reply.

"She's probably right, but for now, I'm the microwave. And towel warmer." Rickel suddenly put her hands up, squeezing them three times.

"And instant hand holder in the winter." Vargas said, almost with an eye roll, taking another bite of his burrito, looking for Colden as he sat beside Rickel. Turns out he was more than a couple feet away, standing between a pillar and one of the school's many buildings, his boots and socks resting on the grass a few steps away.

"To temporarily avoid the technobabble from Amy, I'll show it off, first." He said, taking a moment to take a breath in and out. He then jumped to the wall, not wasting a second before pushing himself off the wall, slightly upward, repeating the action as he hit the pillar, going back and forth between the two at a breakneck speed until he reached the roof, which he hung off of with a single hand, grinning down and his friends. Yang let off a low whistle.

"Fluid motion in and out of combat. While there's not a specific definition for it, we've coined the term "Flowmotion" to give it a name. In other words…" Amy trailed off as Colden swung himself forward and dismounted, doing a corkscrew in mid-air before hitting the ground. He rolled, and then popped up, sticking the landing by doing a handstand.

"The environment I'm in becomes my playground!" He exclaimed, a faint horn suddenly sounding across the yard, making the four Asmund Academy Student turn toward it in union. IT seems their lunchtime was up. Colden then spoke again, a toothy grin on his face

"Hey, you guys wanna come see our forge and armoury?"

The squee that came from Ruby's mouth after the question was asked last for a good two minutes.


End file.
